Zx
Classification Zx (pronounced /zæ/) is an auxiliary language designed for the purposes of the global queer community, but open to all. The proper name 'Zx' can mean "free" or "freedom" when written as a common noun or adjective in the language, i.e. 'zx'. Phonology Consonants Vowels Phonotactics Zx allows the following syllable structures: V, CV, VC, CCV, VCC, CCVC, CVCC and CCVCC. For V syllables, there are four permissible diphthongs: /ai/, /ao/, /ɔi/ and /eu/. For consonant clusters in the onset, except for the affricates, all consonants can combine with either approximant, making these blends permissible: /my/, /ny/, /py/, /by/, /ty/, /dy/, /ky/, /gy/, /fy/, /vy/, /sy/, /zy/, /ʃy/, /ʒy/, and /wy/ as well as /mw/, /nw/, /pw/, /bw/, /tw/, /dw/, /kw/, /gw/, /fw/, /vw/, /sw/, /zw/, /ʃw/, /ʒw/ and /yw/. No approximants are allowed in the consonant clusters of the coda. The obstruent clusters in both the onset and coda follow the sonority sequencing principle and must match for voicing. For the onset, the following obstruent clusters are permissible: /pf/, /ps/, /pʃ/, /bv/, /bz/, /bʒ/, /tf/, /ts/, /t͡ʃ/, /dv/, /dz/, /d͡ʒ/, /kf/, /ks/, /kʃ/, /gv/, /gz/, and /gʒ/. For the coda, the following obstruent clusters are permissible: /fp/, /sp/, /ʃp/, /vb/, /zb/, /ʒb/, /ft/, /st/, /ʃt/, /vd/, /zd/, /ʒd/, /fk/, /sk/, /ʃk/, /vg/, /zg/, and /ʒg/, as well as /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/, which being affricates have unique characteristics that allow the discrepancy and make argument for their phonemic values. For onsets, the following nasal cluster is permissible: /mn/ For codas, the following nasal-obstruent clusters are permissible: /mp/, /nd/, /mk/. Note that in these clusters, the nasals and obstruents must feature the same place of articulation. Also, the labial and velar nasals take a voiceless obstruent in the coda and are the only two instances in which voicing does not match in any of the sixty-eight permissible clusters. Writing System Grammar Zx features an SVO word order and is a subject-dropping language. It does not feature grammatical gender or case. Color Zx features color, which is phono-semantic, but relates to the grammar. At its essence, each consonant in Zx is aligned with a color of the rainbow. All twenty-six letters of the Zx alphabet create a pangram which demonstrates this. PIBFHVTQDNXMSAZLCJKUGYEWRO This pangram literally reads: REDORANGEYELLOWGREENBLUEINDIGOVIOLETWHITEBLACKCOLOR pib - /pib/ - red fhv - /fɪv/ - orange tqd - /tɛd/ - yellow nxm - /næm/ - green saz - /sɑz/ - blue lcj - /ʃɔʒ/ - indigo kug - /kug/ - violet ye - /ye/ - white wr - /wʌ/ - black o - /o/ - color The consonants /p/ and /b/ are red consonants as they are in the word meaning red. Similarly, /f/ and /v/ are orange consonants, /l/ and /j/ indigo, /y/ white, /w/ black, and so on. Physical objects in the world that typically occur as a particular color will then begin with a corresponding color letter. For example: bhvb - /bɪvb/ - apple fwosp - /fwosp/ - tiger dzof - /dzof/ - cheese nai - /nai/ - tree zask - /zɑsk/ - sky livg - /ʃivg/ - bruise gc - /gɔ/ - grape yh - /yɪ/ - tooth wi - /wi/ - night Many words will have a more arbitrary connection to color, but for adjectives and words denoting certain qualities, color will overlap with these general symbolic categories: Red - Beauty / Danger : Pe / Pc Orange - Energy / Oddity : Vyi / Vx Yellow - Kindness / Weakness : Du / Ta Green - Life / Disgust : Myci / Mnq Blue - Peace / Boredom : Si / Zwx Indigo - Transcendence / Pain : Lc / Jao Violet - Pleasure / Decadence : Kya / Gju White - Purity / Emptiness : Yao / Yai Black - Wealth / Depression : Wyx / Wci Standard Verbs Standard verbs in Zx are generally of the CVC structure The phono-semantic value of color is relevant for verbs. Verbs can be either warm or cool and will generally come in pairs. Warm verbs end in /f/ or /v/ and cool verbs end in /ʃ/ or /ʒ/. Two verbs that differ in only their warmth or coolness differ in the heat or intensity of their meanings. nol - /noʃ/ - to have nof - /nof/ - to own yej - /yeʒ/ - to dance yev - /yev/ - to shake With these pairs, "to own" has a more intense meaning than its cool partner verb "to have", just as "to shake" does over "to dance". Tense Standard verbs conjugate according to the tense via lenition and fortition. There are three tenses: present, past, and future. To form the past tense, the coda moves further back in the mouth for both the warm and cool verbs. Similarly, to form the future tense, the coda moves further in front of the mouth for both types. nol - /noʃ/ - have nok - /nok/ - had nos - /nos/ - will have yej - /yeʒ/ - am/is/are dancing yeg - /yeg/ - danced yez - /yez/ - will dance nof - /nof/ - own not - /not/ - owned nop - /nop/ - will own yev - /yev/ - am/is/are shaking yed - /yed/ - shook yeb - /yeb/ - will shake. E nok bhvb. - "You had an apple." A yej. - "She is dancing." Am nop tem. - "They will own a home." The Stative, Descriptive, and Impersonal Verbs Three verbs in Zx are non-standard and they include the stative, descriptive and impersonal verbs. These verbs conjugate differently from standard verbs. The stative and descriptive verbs are both equivalent to English "is", but one is a copula used to connect with noun phrases (the stative verb) and the other is a non-copula used to connect with all other types of phrases (the descriptive verb). Stative Verb wa - /wɑ/ - am/is/are wc - /wɔ/ - was/were we - /we/ - will be I wa tulc. - I am a teacher. E wc wivc. - You were a singer. A we mufc. - He/She will be a traveler. Descriptive Verb ya - /yɑ/ - am/is/are yc - /yɔ/ - was/were ye - /ye/ - will be I ya vi. - "I am happy." E yc bo. - "You were hot." A ye rv. - "He/She will be here." Impersonal Verb The impersonal verb is equivalent to "There is..." in English and tells what exists. It has three verb forms, including the indicative, interrogative, and negative, and they all conjugate. Indicative tya - /tyɑ/ - there is tyc - /tyɔ/ - there was tye - /tye/ - there will be Tya nai. - "There is a tree." Interrogative sya - /syɑ/ - is there? syc - /syɔ/ - was there? sye - /sye/ - will there be? Syc bhvb? - "Was there an apple?" Negative mya - /myɑ/ - there isn't myc - /myɔ/ - there wasn't mye - /mye/ - there won't be Mye dzof. - "There won't be cheese." Negative Adverb The negative adverb 'be' means "not". With the stative and descriptive verb, it can contract to form one single word. I be nol fwosp. - "I don't have a tiger." I be ya va. - "I am not warm." I bya va. - "I'm not warm."eans "not". I be wa tulc. - "I am not a teacher." I bwa tulc. - "I'm not a teacher." Aspect Zx features three grammatical aspects: indicative, habitual, and perfect. The habitual aspect will be formed by using the stative verb in combination with a verb, whereas the perfect aspect will be formed using the descriptive verb in combination. I wa yej. - "I (regularly) dance." I wc yej. - "I used to dance." I we yej - "I will (regularly) dance." I ya yeg. - "I have danced." I yc yeg. - "I had danced." I ye yeg - "I will have danced." The continuous aspect is either default as the indicative for verbs of action or is communicated with function words. Mood In addition to the indicative, Zx conjugates standard verbs according to six moods: the imperative, suggestive, possible, conditional, potential, and permissive. pql - /pɛʃ/ - eat I pql. - "I am eating." (indicative) I pqlu. - "I must eat." (imperative) I pqleu. - "I should eat." (suggestive) I pqlai. - "I might eat." (possible) I pqlci. - "I would eat." (conditional) I pqlo. - "I can able to eat." (potential) I pqlao - "I can allowed to eat." (permissive) The passive mood is made by using the paricle 'sc' before the standard verb. Bhvb sc pql. - "The apple is eaten." Bhvb sc pqk. - "The apple was eaten." Bhvb sc pqs. - "The apple will be eaten." The commandative is another mood, but it does not conjugate with standard verbs. This mood is equivalent to the imperative in English or Spanish, and is used to utter commands. For the stative and descriptive verbs, the infinitive form of the verbs are used, i.e. 'yan' and 'wan'. A commandative form of the adverb "not" also exists: bc. Mul! - "Go!" Pql x! - "Eat it" Bc mul! - "Don't go!" Bc wan wivc. - "Don't be a singer." Wan ik bjxf. - "Be my friend." Bc yan se. - "Don't be sad." Yan vi. - "Be happy" Nouns Nouns in Zx can feature any of the permissible syllable structures. They can be formed from verbs and adjectives through suffixes or circumfixes. Many nouns also share the same form with semantically matching adjectives. Nouns have a general form and plural form. The plural form is not required and thus the general form can be used to refer to plural items. The plural is formed by adding /m/ to nouns ending in a vowel, or /ʌm/ to nouns ending in a consonant. nai - /nɑi/ - tree naim - /nɑim/ - trees bhvb - /bɪvb/ - apple bhvbrm - /bɪvbʌm/ - apples I yol naim. - "I see trees." Tij e bhvb? - "Do you like apples?" Tij e bhvbrm? - "Do you like the apples?" Because the general form implies a plural when relevant, and also because there is nothing concretely plural about the category of apples anyway, the general form should be used when asking general questions of whether you like some category of things. Adjectives Adjectives in Zx almost always end in a vowel. Basic adjectives will generally feature a CV syllable structure. Many adjectives in Zx share the same form with semantically matching nouns. The stative and descriptive verbs are important in forming the correct grammar and meaning. zx - /zæ/ - free / freedom vi - /vi/ - happy / happiness pu - /pu/ - big / size ko - /ko/ - old / age Im ya zx. - "We are free." Im nol zx. - "We have freedom." I ya on ko. - "I am very old." Nx wa ek ko? - "What is your age?" To make the "too + (adj)" construction, Zx will employ duplication, gemination and reverse voicing. Pubbu. - "(It's) too big." A ya koggo. - "He is too old." Ya a psibbi? - "Is she too tall?" Note that only the first sound of the cluster is used in the further processes. Green, white and black adjectives duplicate the other form from their category (nasal or glide). Only green adjectives geminate; black and white do not. Munnu - "(It's) too delicious." Ncmmc. - "(It's) too expensive." Yaowao. - "(It's) too pure." Wyxyx. - "(He's) too wealthy." Adverbs Adverbs in Zx are typically made by adjoining the suffix /n/ to adjectives. zxn - /zæn/ - freely vin - /vin/ - happily I wa yej zxn dji vin. - "I dance freely and happily." Conjunctions Because many nouns and adjectives share the same lexical form, it is imperative that Zx have two variations of conjunctions. Zx has two words for "and" and two words for "or". One of each connects noun phrases whereas the other of each connects all other phrase types. ai - /ɑi/ - "and" (noun phrases) dji - /d͡ʒi/ - "and" (non-noun phrases) ao - /ɑo/ - "or" (noun phrases) tle - /t͡ʃe/ - "or" (non-noun phrases) Wa bhvb ai dzof. - "It's an apple and cheese." Ya pu dji ko. - "He/She's big and old." Wa bhvb ao dzof. - "It's an apple or cheese." Ya pu tle ko. - "He/She's big or old." Particles Particles will be used to mark a topic or to communicate speaker mood or intention. sai - /sɑi/ - (topic particle) ki - /ki/ - (confirmation particle) zu - /ɑo/ - (indication particle) wo - /wo/ - (supposition particle) la - /ʃa/ - (wonderment particle) br - /br/ - (insistence particle) dis - /dis/ - (politeness particle) The topic particle will be used to: introduce a new topic, compare different topics; return to a prior topic; or for discursive purposes such as different transition types. A ya bcyuyo. I sai ya vryuda. - "She is twenty-one. As for me, I'm thirty-four." Pso sai byc on mu? - “(Turning back to the lobster) wasn’t it delicious?”" Unlike the topic particle which will generally lead sentences, the other particles will mark the end of a sentence. The confirmation particle is used in request for the listener to confirm or not. It can often be used to show one's own insistence in the truth of the statement, typically in a friendly way. E ai a be mulao ki. - You and he can't go, right?" Af tlosp ya on gyi ki. - "That cat is very cute, yeah?" The indication particle tells the listener that what you are saying is either new information that is being passed along for the first time, or it's a stubborn rebuke to a statement with which you disagree. A mus dcbedj zu. - "He is going in the summer, ya know." I be pqk ek mcin zu! - "I didn't eat you food; I'm telling you!" The supposition particle is used to communicate the speaker's self-doubt or curiosity about the subject at hand. It can often be used in conjunction with or in place of the words "maybe" or "perhaps", though the particles strictly describe the feelings of the speaker as opposed to the lexical words which can describe the facts of the matter. Ye lo wo. - It will be cold, I guess. Ya vi wo. - I'm happy, I suppose. The wonderment particle communicates speaker wonder, awe, confusion or curiosity. Rp galo a la? - "How will he do it, I wonder?" I be yxv la. - "I don't know. (I really have no idea; I wonder how.)" Ni txg im rt la? - "Where do we come from? I wonder..." The insistence particle is forceful and is generally used in the construction "let's (do something)" Pql br! - "Let's eat!" Mul br! - "Let's go!" Wiv im br? - "Shall we dance?" Wiv br. - "Yes, we shall." The politeness particle communicates courtesy and respect and can be used to formalize expressions. It will actualy be a lexicalized suffix in common expressions like "Hello" and "Goodbye" but will generally be an independent particle at the end of a sentence. Djo, - "Hello." Djodis. - "Hello." (polite/formal) Tlu. - "Goodbye." Tludis - "Goodbye." (polite/formal) Yc fo r yol e dis. - "It was good to see you." (polite) Syntax Zx has an SVO word order and features WH-movement and subject-verb inversion for all standard questions. Nol e bhvb? - "Do you have an apple?" Ne yeg em? - "When did you guys dance?" Pqk e vefp? - "Did you eat the orange?" Cd tij e af zom? - "Why do you like those people?" Wanno em dai? - "Can you guys be fish?" Yanno a px? - "Can she be angry?" Question Words Nx? - "What?" Ni? - "Where?" Ne? - "When?" Na? - "Who?" No? - "Which?" Ind? - "What time?" Wyu? - "How many? / How much?" Ywi? - "What kind?" Rp? - "How?" Cd? - "Why?" Relative Adverbs Relative adverbs are formed by adding an /n/ suffix to the matching question words. nxn - "that/which" nin - "where" nen - "when" nan - "who" The Particle 'R' The particle 'r' has two main functions in Zx. Firstly, it can be used as an infinitive particle, that when placed before a standard verb clarifies that it is in the infinitive. Secondly, it is used to mean "that" in a sentence such as, "I think that..." or "I dreamed that..." but it would NOT function as "that" in the aforementioned relative clauses like "the boy that I saw" or "the drink that's on the table". I zij r zo yanno fo, yanno ba. - "I think that people can be good; they can be bad." I krl r mul Itaya ai Nippon. - "I want to go to Italy and Japan." When asking questions with subject-verb inversion, the infinitive particle will not be expressed, as the pronouns will fill the space. Krl e mul Itaya? - "Do you want to go to Italy?" Tij am pql gcm? - "Do they like to eat grapes?" Tij. Am tij r pql gcm tin. - "Yes, they do. They like to eat grapes a lot." Indefinite Prounouns The indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific things, places, etc. nxzb // “everyone” nxfk // “someone” nxlt // “anyone” nwx // “no one” nazb // “everyone” nafk // “someone” nalt // “anyone” nwa // “no one” nezb // “always” nefk // “some time” nelt // “anytime” nwe // “never nizb // “everywhere” nifk // “somewhere” nilt // “anywhere" nwi // “nowhere” Lexicon There are currently over 1,000 words in Zx with a plan to create over 5,000. Example text Tyc zond nan mog qp so wcki qp wcs. A be nok nxlt mo byc se. Ak bjxf txg ak tem dji dig a mrj klcvai an a. Zond yc ko dji nwe ya mrg. Yc pwe sc bje. Ga sai a zig r yc lejje. A dht ba dji be muk. Jog tem an ak pu tlosp ai je ywazg. Wc feu zo mo tig ak myci. A sai wc zx. /tyɔ zond nɑn mog ɛp so wɔki ɛp wɔs. ɑ be nok næʃt mo byɔ se. ɑk bʒæf tæg ɑk tem d͡ʒi dig ɑ mʌʒ kʃɔvɑi ɑn ɑ. zond yɔ ko d͡ʒi nwe yɑ mʌg. yɔ pwe sɔ bʒe. gɑ sɑi ɑ zig ʌ yɔ ʃeʒʒe. ɑ dɪt bɑ d͡ʒi be muk. ʒog tem ɑn ɑk pu t͡ʃosp ɑi ʒe ywɑzg. wɔ feu zo mo tig ɑk myɔi. ɑ sɑi wɔ zæ./ "There was a man who lived on a quiet street in the city. He didn't have anything, but he wasn't sad. His friend came to his home and asked him to play soccer with him. The man was old and had never played. He was somewhat scared. Besides, he thought that it was too cold. He said no and didn't go. He stayed home with his big cat and small dog. He was a cowardly man, but he liked his life. For him, it was freedom."